Restraining yourself from feeding your dog “people food” isn’t always the easiest thing to do… but it’s a good way to turn an energetic, happy dog into a tubby, coach potato! Home made dog treats are a great way to give your dog a health, tasty treat that you know doesn’t have anything nasty in it… and the best thing is that it’s quick and easy! There are tons of recipes and ideas out there for making an endless variety of dog treats and with just a bit of research you can be ready to go.

The best thing is that it’s lots of fun, but what should you try first? Dogs generally aren’t that picky about what they eat – Everything from bits of paper to anything meat flavoured is quickly consumed. I have personally noticed a particular fondness for cheese, after accidentally leaving a whole block of my favourite cheddar within his reach.

So, without further ado, I found a recipe for cheddar biscuits, which was quickly modified to include liver and bacon. Here is what I came up with:

Ingredients

• 2 cups un-sifted all-purpose flour
• 1.5  cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 cups of liverwurst puree
• 1 tablespoon of bacon bits
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• ¼ cup of water

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine all ingredients into a food processor. Cover,  and mix until the mixture is the consistency of coarse textured dough. While running, gradually add water until the mixture forms a ball.

Remove and place on your cutting board. Divide the ball into twelve equal portions. Roll out each portion to 1/2″ thickness. Cut out bone shaped pieces (I made my own bone shaped cookie cutter). Place the bones onto an un-greased cookie sheet. Bake for ten to fifteen minutes or until the bottoms are lightly browned. Allow them to cool for at least 30 minutes and store in an air tight container in your refrigerator.

The smell wasn’t awful, but I could hardly prepare myself for the excitement that filled the room while they sat on the counter to cool. 2 minutes later and 5 biscuits down I decided it was time for an extra long walk!

Image supplied by Madaise, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.